Atalanta
by Arathelia
Summary: Set up in Portland as a break from her slaying duties and helping to run the new council, Buffy comes across a strange scene. She just knew this wasn't going to be as relaxing as her friends had led her to believe.
1. What You Feel

**What You Feel**

**Atalanta**

**Chapter 1: What You Feel**

Discalimer: Ok, so no, I do not own any of the characters. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. And Grimm belongs to Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, and Jim Kouf, I believe. So unfortunately, no, I don't own any of them or anything of the like. Basically, I am just playing in someone else's sandbox. However, this story and the ideas within it are entirely my own. And the chapter title is the name of a song from Buffy, by Hinton Battle.

This is my first story on here, so any constructive criticism would be lovely. I never posted up here because I didn't feel like any of my stuff was up to par with some of the excellent authors on here, which it still isn't in my opinion, but I was so frustrated only one person had done a Buffy/Grimm crossover, and then left it to die, I wanted to get more support for the crossover and felt that putting up my own story might help with that. Plus, I wanted a Buffy-centered one. So, I am hoping others put some up as well!

NOTE: Also (I forgot this when I first posted this up), I am pretty much ignoring season 8 and 9 for the most part, except for the idea of the slayer school/organization they showed in the beginning of season 8 comics. Of course, it is not the same, just the idea of it. So this is post-series for Buffy, and season 1 of Grimm (that is all there is so far!). I am also taking some liberties in order to combine the universes. If you don't like how I am combining them, or have an idea that you think would work better, feel free to message me or even review with your suggestion. ^_^

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><p>"<em>'Oh no, Buffy, Portland is really quiet this time of year. It is the perfect place for you to take it slow for a little bit. You will be able to relax and just take a break for once.'<em>" She mimicked in a high voice, mockingly.

"I must seriously be an idiot to have believed even a word of that." Buffy said aloud to herself as she slowed her rental car (despite it having been years since living in Sunnydale, even to this day they wouldn't give in and buy her a car of her own) to a stop in front of the police barricade.

With so many people in uniforms milling about, as well as normal civilians, and the stationary but obviously wrecked SUV in the middle of the street, it looked like it had been a particularly nasty case. Watching as the paramedics carefully arranged an injured and bleeding man onto a stretcher, her vision shifted over a bit and she noticed the overturned coolers. Being who she was though, of course the coolers would not be filled with normal things like soda or lunchmeat. No, instead of the normal things coolers held being splattered across the asphalt, there were various organs and blood staining the street.

Somehow she didn't think Portland would be as safe and relaxing as her friends had thought.

Seeing a man purposefully walking in her direction, she knew she had been staring at the scene too long for the man's comfort. Rolling her eyes at the predictable way police worked, she stayed where she was and waited for him to reach her, mentally bracing herself for the ridiculous questioning. She knew that criminals tended to return to scenes to revisit their handiwork, and the way she was staring at that body, it really didn't surprise her that the man was curious as to why she was there.

"Miss, can I help you with anything?" The handsome, young detective asked her. He was trying to go in this nicely, just in case she actually ended up being a random nosy bystander. The man was at least a head taller than her, but had a sort of innocence or naivety about him that made her instinctively want to pull him behind her to protect. Loosening a small, tight smile, Buffy lightly shook her head, scattering a cloud of blonde around her head as she did so.

"No, not really Officer; I was just driving down the road, saw this, and wanted to know what happened."  
>Her answer was smooth and concise, almost like she was used to being asked questions like that at potential homicide investigations. The brunette detective raised a brow in suspicion. Seeing the unbelieving look on his face, the slight woman blushed in embarrassment, and raised her hands, gesturing wildly.<p>

"No, I mean, I am new to the city, and this is really the only road I know to take in order to get to my house, and I was surprised to see it completely blocked off, I mean, it is a pretty big road and all, right? So, I decided to pull over and see what had happened…." She babbled on, eventually trailing off when she got to the end. Buffy smirked in her head.

At thirty-two she had long ago learned that her life was usually a lot easier if people underestimated you. And after years she had finally learned to perfect that ability she had only partially been playing at being as a teenager.

It wasn't that she was guilty of anything, but she knew that if the guy didn't think she was an idiot, or at least a complete spaz, he wouldn't leave her alone because she had forgotten just where she was and had been staring at the scene intently. She wasn't back in Rome, or even in London, where the authorities were used to her and her girls being around crime scenes that could possibly involve the supernatural.

Luckily, she was confident she had gotten him off her back, at least for now, anyway.

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><p>Nick knew the woman was hiding something the second he had caught her staring, transfixed on the blood and organs dumped out on the street. Was there <em>another<em> Blutbad in the city that he didn't know about? It _was_ possible; he would need to remember to ask Monroe about it later.

His feeling that she was hiding something only increased as she explained what she was doing and how she had stumbled upon the scene.

She had no personal connection to the victim and yet, rather than shy away and quickly leave the gory scene like most would, she had stayed, her eyes transfixed on the stolen parts. He knew some creatures were excited by the site of blood and the like, but so far during their conversation she had not shown any signs of her "other" side.

Except for a slight smell of sand and what he could only describe as the smell before a storm, she was perfectly normal. But there was a reason why his Aunt had told him to trust his instincts, and he knew this a perfect example of that.

He would have to visit Monroe much sooner than he had originally planned in order to ask him what he knew about the particular smell she had given off when she had been staring at the blood. Something inside him was telling him it wasn't just a shampoo or fragrance, but rather a trait of whatever she was, which meant it could potentially help identify her creature.

He needed to know if he should watch out for her in the future, and more importantly, he needed to know if there was a possibility she was involved with the case, with the creature that had been transporting the stolen organs.

_Author Note: Reviews are love. I really want to know what you all think about it so far, and if there is anything I can work on to make it better._


	2. Keep Myself Awake

**Keep Myself Awake**

**Atalanta**

**Chapter 2: Keep Myself Awake**

Disclaimer: So none of this is mine, and I am not making any prophet from this. All I own is the idea of this crossover and the plot therein. Everything else belongs to some guys (and girls) who make far more money than I  
>do. It's a sad reality, I know. And also, the title of the chapter is a song from Buffy by Black Lab.<p>

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><p>Maybe it was just him, but Nick couldn't help but be angered by the fact that there were creatures out there that bought and sold human organs as if they were oregano or paprika. And the gleeful tone Monroe's voice took on when speaking of the Geiger's had him raise an eyebrow in curiosity.<p>

Seeing the confused look on Nick's face, Monroe quickly tried to save himself by giving an example.

Unfortunately the first one to pop into his head was the use of human male testicles as a type of Viagra for creatures. Instead of making the Grimm feel more comfortable and wiping the confused look off his face, this only served to cause that eyebrow to rise further questioningly.

Open mouth and insert foot.

Having lost his meager appetite after hearing the quite frankly , disturbing example, Nick slid his mostly filled plate further in front of him to get it out of the way, as he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be touching it again any time in the immediate future, not with the images provided by Monroe.

Vehemently denying the need for such products, Monroe carefully told Nick about the store he had 'heard' of that catered specifically to creature needs. Having gotten the information he had come for about his current case, Nick was ready to head over to the store in question at that moment, until he remembered something; he had almost completely forgotten about the suspicious looking girl he had seen at the crime scene.

By this time Monroe had already tore back into his food, leaving Nick to simply watch as the man consumed his odd little vegetarian dish. He figured now was as good as any to bring up the strange girl.

"I almost forgot to ask, but are there any of you guys that can mask how they really look from a Grimm? I mean, I ask because I saw this really strange girl staring at the blood and organs scattered all over the street without even batting an eye, like she was used to that sort of thing." He paused to take a break from his rant,

"I've only seen creatures and people who are mentally unbalanced stare intently at gore like that, and she didn't seem to be crazy or anything; but she only continued to stare, and when I got closer to her, I could only smell the desert and what I'd guess desert storms smell like right before they roll in. Is that something? Because there is no way this girl is normal."

At some point during his explanation Monroe had gone a chalky white, as if all of the color had been drained from his face. Seeing the new expression on his friend's face, Nick began to worry that maybe he should have had the girl followed, especially if just a simple description of her got such a powerful reaction from a creature most thought to be vicious and strong.

"Monroe? You alright? Was I wrong to let her just walk away?" Nick was worried about his friend. Though he showed the reluctance to go after certain creatures because he knew they could overpower him, but never before had Nick seen this look of terror on his friend's face.

"Come on, Monroe, What is she?"

After a few minutes had lapsed in silence, Monroe final shook his head and snapped himself out of his fear induced state. Sighing wearily, he picked at his oversized sweater a bit before meeting Nick's eyes, a determined look now on his face. He had to make Nick see that going after this girl, if she was what he thought she was, would be bad news.

"Man, you don't want to mess with what she is. You should just stay away from her. That's what most of us do if we can help it, and in turn, she leaves us alone. I mean, there are stories of them that go back ages, even further than Grimms. I mean, usually it isn't so bad because they are extremely rare to come across; rumor has it that there is only one at a time, but still, even one can do some serious damage to any city's creature population." He explained, his dark eyes pleading with the detective he had come to see as a friend to understand that this wasn't something he needed to go after, that if he did, it was almost guaranteed he wouldn't be coming back.

Though of course, like his usual self, Nick ignored the warning and ploughed right in, his sense of justice forcing him to find out more, to find out just what made these creatures so feared.

"So why are you afraid of whatever she is? I've seen you 'wolf out' and god, you pulled a man's arm off without even trying,"

"I already apologized for that, you know." Monroe interrupted quickly, feeling the need to apologize once again for relapsing and hurting someone, even if the man had intended to hurt him as well.

"And yet you are afraid of some tiny blonde? What is she that she does this to you?" Nick had continued after Monroe's interruption. Hearing the description of the woman in question, Monroe tensed up even further, if that was possible. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he murmured exasperatedly,

"What did I do to deserve this? First the Grimm and now this?" Hearing the murmured words, Nick smirked a bit at his friend.

"Come on, Monroe; I'm not that bad, am I?" he asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. Opening his eyes to look at his friend, Nick noticed he looked so much wearier than he had a little bit ago.

"Sometimes I wonder about that. But compared to what seems to have set up shop in the city, I'd take you any day. I mean, it'll be great for the unsolved crime rate, but for the rest of us creatures, the ones with the shady pasts? It probably won't end too well. And it's just my luck that from the sounds of it, this is the Queen herself. Seriously Nick, you're like a magnet for trouble."

"What do you mean? 'Queen' herself? I thought you said there was only ever one at a time? How can there be a queen if there is only one?"

"Ok, from what I know, there's only supposed to be one at a time, like when one dies, another is activated. Sort of like Grimms. But apparently a few years ago, it changed. I don't know why, but suddenly there was talk about another one running around, one who didn't care if you had been toeing the line or not. But that wasn't the biggest problem. Not even close. A couple of years after that second one showed up, a bunch of them started popping up all over and no one knew why. So now instead of just the one who, ten to one, you would never see in your entire life because they tend to stay in one place and die after a few years of 'activating', there were thousands of them scattered about the world. The creature world has been in an uproar about it for a while now." He paused, making sure everything he said had set in.

"And petite, blond girl, with that strong a scent even _you_can smell it? There's only one person it could be: the Queen slayer herself, the oldest living one of her kind. And if she is here, it can only mean bad things are going to happen."

Ringing his hands together, he snuck a glance out the window, making sure there was no one watching him. There was just something about talking about her that made him think she was going to just appear and slaughter him.

Really, her kind was worse than Grimms when they set one of them in their sights.

Of course, it wasn't very often that they focused on the less physically obvious creatures, the ones who could pose as humans, usually content to leave those to the Grimms or human law enforcement, but it _did_happen.

And it happened often enough that where Grimms were the bogeymen, _they_were Death itself.

Taking all that he had heard in, Nick still found it hard to believe that someone so tiny and bubbly could be such a force to be reckoned with, but so far Monroe hadn't steered him wrong, and if he had learned anything from his Grimm work so far, he had learned that things weren't always what they seemed and that the girl very well could be as bad as Monroe made her out to be. But something about it just didn't seem right to him; there was something he was missing. He would have to check his books for anything on her type of creature, though, just in case, and find out any weaknesses they had.

Massaging the bridge of his nose, he could already feel a headache beginning to form behind his eyes. He already had normal human killers to deal with; he really didn't need a creature one as well.

"What is she called, Monroe?" The man in question stayed quiet for a while before he answered hesitantly, wary to say the name aloud.

"Slayers," he answered quietly.

"They are called Slayers, Nick." A bit louder, but still muffled a bit, like he was afraid that by saying it he would summon her presence in his dining room.

And from what Nick had heard about them, he really couldn't blame the guy for his caution.

_Author Note: So that is chapter two! Sorry it doesn't actually have Buffy in it, but I had to explain how the two worlds fit together, and I thought this was a good way to do so... I hope it is alright. Once again, constructive criticism and all that jazz is always appreciated!  
>Also, I apologize fir the formatting. I am still getting the hang of this.<em>


	3. Summerbreeze

**Summerbreeze**

**Atalanta**

**Chapter 3: Summerbreeze**

Disclaimer: So same as before, I own absolutely nothing, no matter how much I wish I owned Renard and Spike, I know it isn't going to happen anytime soon. Title of this chapter is from a song by Emiliana Torrini.

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><p>Listening to Angel.<p>

That was her first mistake.

She should have known better than to listen to him about meeting whoever the guy was who "ran" Portland. If she had just ignored her cell phone instead of rolling over to pick it up this morning, she could have been at home in her new cushy apartment eating ice-cream and watching 'Extreme Home Makeovers' or something stupid like that.

That was how she found herself in her form fitting black dress with the white trim and stripe down the one side and across her body. She had nothing against the single strap dress, or her dark burgundy coat she had worn over it; it was more so the fact that she had gotten dressed up to meet this person as a simple formality and the guy had the nerve to be late.

It also didn't help that she was freezing her ass off.

She hadn't lived in the good old sunshine state in years, but even after all this time, her body had never fully gotten used to cooler places like Portland.

Tapping her heeled foot to get out some of the annoyance she was feeling, Buffy snuggled a bit deeper into her coat to keep warm.

She had already gone in the restaurant Angel had told her the man would meet her in, but she didn't know his name so she couldn't exactly wait at the table or anything. She knew he had been given a picture of her so he would able to identify her, but she was left in the dark about him. That left her stuck waiting outside until he showed up and saw her standing there.

And if he didn't arrive soon she was calling it quits and heading home. Of course, staying in the city without the so-called "royal's" permission could pose a problem, but she figured that if the man was rude enough to stand her up then she didn't need someone like that's approval to live here anyway.

…not that she actually needed someone's 'approval' in the first place…

She had more important things to worry about.

Way more important things to worry about than some guy who claimed to "rule" a city. Clearly he hadn't gotten the memo that this wasn't the dark ages anymore. In fact, the only reason she was at the meeting in the first place was because Angel had called to tell her it would be beneficial to make nice with the local guy in charge, a position he told her was vaguely similar to a master vampire of a city, but with a whole lot more power.

She really hated all of these political things she found herself involved in, what with the Council dealings and her position as the oldest living slayer, something Giles and co. never seemed to let her forget when it came to taking up responsibilities she really didn't want.

Like this meeting, for example.

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><p>If there was one thing Renard could say about himself, it was that he was always prepared.<p>

Always ready for anything, always informed, and always, always punctual.

Except now he would have to amend that last one, because stealing a glance at the little digital clock on his dashboard, he could tell he was most definitely going to be running late to his meeting. It wasn't even like he could call to inform anyone he would be running a bit late, because he didn't have any means to contact them by. He had only been given a picture and a name. Of course he knew who she was and had heard of her, but that didn't mean he had her cell phone number or anything.

If it were a different being he was scheduled to meet with, he would have headed over to the restaurant directly after the case with the Geier was wrapped up, but knowing what she was meant that it would be extremely foolish for him to arrive at what was supposed to be a neutral, meet and great type of meeting smelling like human organs and death.

That would certainly not do at all.

Because even if he wasn't exactly thrilled to have such a being as her in his territory, he knew there was worse, and that compared to others of her kind he had seen in the past, if the stories about her were true, she was by far the most progressive.

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><p>Newly showered and dressed in a clean suit, Renard stepped out of his dark SUV and gave a slight nod, imperceptible to all but the attractive blonde who had stepped out of the passenger seat who had long ago learned to look for small motions like that from him. She returned the gesture and walked away, though she stayed close, just in case he had need of her.<p>

Straightening his tie a bit, he brushed his hands over his coat, ridding it of nonexistent dirt.

He had parked a bit away from the restaurant so Adalind could get out and make herself scarce but still on hand if necessary without his company catching sight of her with him.

A small almost unnoticeable smirk lifted the corners of his mouth at the thought of the similarities the two women possessed, though he doubted either would appreciate the comparison.

From what he had seen and knew of the woman he was to be meeting with, she was petite and delicate looking, something that contradicted her nature, a trait she most definitely shared with his overprotective attendant.

Of course, he would never say such a thing aloud; he may rule the surrounding area, but even he was wary of angered women.

Seeing the small blonde shivering slightly in a fashionable, yet practical medium-length burgundy coat, he felt something twinge inside him.

Was that regret he was feeling for forcing her to wait so long for him in the cold? No, he refused to believe that was it and quickly tossed the thought aside.

It would be of no use to him.

Before he could open his mouth to address her, the woman in question had whipped her head around and pinned him with knowing hazel eyes.

He had met slayers before in his life, so he wasn't surprised by her almost immediate reaction to him, but he was a little surprised by the look on her face when she saw him.

Rather than the instant dislike he was used to when meeting her kind, he was a bit shocked to see a look of approval on her sharp features and a small, coy smile upturning the corners of her mouth.

He found it hard to believe a being such as her found him attractive, but then again, she was a woman, and Renard was no stranger to beautiful women being attracted to him.

In fact, this new development might even make this whole meeting go that much smoother than he had thought it would when he had first scheduled to meet with the so-called "Queen" slayer.

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><p><em>Author Note: Sorry this has taken me so long to write! I was waiting for the next episode to come on in the hopes of getting some more info on either Grimms or Renard, but then I saw that it would be two weeks until the next episode, and then when it finally came on, it gave even more breadcrumbs but then gave previews for next weeks episode (which will be out on Friday here, and NOT in two weeks like last time). So now I'm eagerly anticipating the<em> next_episode! It looks like I will finally be getting more bits on Renard and maybe even some more hints on what exactly he is. I cannot wait!_

_But yeah, I am so glad people seem to be enjoying this, and I look forward to hearing what you all think of my newest chapter. And I went back and fixed a few things, like making certain words into contractions to sound more like real conversations. Also, I had to go back to find out what kind of car Renard drives... XD I feel so silly for not remembering something so simple. It isn't like it was some old specific type of vintage car or anything._

_Hope to hear what you all think of the story so far! Suggestions, constructive criticism, and even just your opinions on it are welcome!_  
><em>And before I forget,<em>

Buffy's Dress www (dot) sarahmichellegellarfan (dot) com/gallery/albums/PhotoShoots/THR/1 (dot) jpg

and

Buffy's Dress2 www (dot) sarahmichellegellarfan (dot) com/gallery/albums/PhotoShoots/THR/2 (dot) jpg

_Obviously take out the _(dot)_ and spaces and replace with an actual period..._


	4. That Kind of Love

**That Kind of Love**

**Atalanta**

_**Chapter 4: That Kind of Love**_

Disclaimer: STILL don't own anything….and chapter title is a song by Alison Krauss. I hope you all get why I chose the title. _I_thought it was clever….

Author Note: And also, this time around, a good more of the conversation is taken directly from the episode. I hate doing that, but it just kind of seemed to need to be done for this chapter. Nothing really happens in this chapter, it is just a bit of a bridging chapter, but it was getting a bit long, so I decided to end it here and put the rest in the next chapter (like Charlotte). I was going to put her in here, but decided to open the next chapter with her because I am going to have a bit of fun with her….

And thank-you to everyone who reviewed! I'm sorry if I don't respond to each individually, but I _am_ trying! I appreciate the time you all are taking to review; it makes me feel so loved!

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><p>The day after getting egged by those ice beaver kids, Nick found himself sitting in the dog park with Monroe.<p>

He wasn't really sure why they were at a dog park, as neither of them owned a dog, but the place seemed to help Monroe think, and even he could admit the place calmed him a bit so he wasn't going to complain about where Monroe wanted to go.  
>After all, if anyone, he could explain why these creatures kept stalking his house, because he was really starting to get tired of it.<br>First the people in the car watching him, then the woman with the camera, now egging?  
>What would he do if they ended up telling something more dangerous that he was living nearby and it endangered Juliette? He didn't know what to do about any of this, and he sure as hell hadn't gotten any closer to telling Juliette about any of the 'Grimm' stuff.<p>

And so, that left him with whatever advice Monroe could give on the situation

It really didn't help his mental state that he had been unable to find anything else on that "slayer" who had moved in; he didn't even know if she had been involved with those Geiers from his last case or not, but from what Monroe had said, he really doubted it, but he wasn't going to make assumptions based on what the guy knew about her 'race' in general.  
>After all, Monroe himself was a contradiction to normal Blutbaden, so who was to say this girl wasn't the same?<p>

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><p>After explaining about what 'Wesen' were and he took a bite out of his croissant Monroe continued,<p>

"It's like I told you when we first met, none of us have ever seen a Grimm before, y'know? You're not real, you're a scary story we tell our kids: 'Be good or a Grimm'll come cut your head off'."

It was a bit ironic he was the big bad wolf in the creature world, and here he was being told all of this by the real big bad wolf.

"So now I'm on some Grimm-grapevine?" It was obvious Nick was getting annoyed by all of the 'Grimm' stuff intruding upon the life he had built for himself. It was obvious by the exasperated tone of his voice and the almost defeated-looking slouch of his shoulders: he didn't want any of this.

"You're big news in the Wesen world."

"Look, it's not them who I'm worried about; It's who _they're_ going to tell and who _they're _going to tell."

"You gotta deal with that before it gets any worse."

And that's when it hit him. If the 'Wesen' world knew so much about him, it was only logical they would know something about this "slayer" person.

God, he might actually have to send Monroe that gift basket one of these days.

His mood had almost even improved.

That was, until Monroe brought up telling Juliette.

That was definitely something he wasn't ready for.

Not at all.

He wasn't even remotely sure how to approach something like that. _'Oh, yeah, so I am a legendary being thing that can see the true faces of creatures when they get emotional, and it's my job to keep them in line. That is why our house got attacked and those people are watching us, oh and that's also what I have been doing a lot of the time I tell you I am at the station. Sorry for lying to you for so long. It all happened recently and I wasn't sure how to tell you.' _Oh yeah, that would go over _so_ well. If she didn't think he was crazy, which was a HUGE 'if', then she would no doubt be angry that he had kept it from her for so long.  
>In either case, he was sure he would be on the losing end, and he didn't know what he could say right now to her that would ultimately get her to stay with him.<br>"I guess Grimm's aren't that brave after all." Monroe had already made his opinion on the whole situation clear: she deserved to know. Him being a Grimm put her into danger, and even if she didn't understand all of it, Monroe thought she should at least know what she was getting into before things got any more serious between them. That way if she couldn't deal, she could get out and be safe, and though he would obviously be hurt, she would be safe and be able to live out her life.  
>Before he could discuss the whole matter with Monroe further, his cell rang.<p>

Of course it did.

It always seemed to ring when he was about to get into a serious discussion.

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><p>He was really not liking this case so far. Not that he <em>liked <em>any cases, but this one in particular was giving him a really bad 'Grimm' feeling. Corpses desiccated in a night and removed fingers that still moved?

It was all just a little weird for him.

But if he was really stuck with being a Grimm, he guessed he would have to start getting used to this type of thing.

The weirdness, that is.

Not the self-moving body parts.

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><p>Looking at the art gallery footage and trying not to get a headache from the artwork, he finally spotted the victim, or what pictures in the apartment had shown the victim to look like before his unusual death. Of course, it helped that the gallery owner pointed him out on the tapes, because Nick wasn't sure he could associate the face the man had the previous evening with the same man they had seen dead this morning.<p>

"How well did you know Ryan?"

"He bought a few pieces from me, but I can't say I really know him."

So far they had followed his progress around the gallery, but then a woman seemed to draw his attention. After he ended the call they had presumed was the one from the girlfriend, he made his way over to the woman with the black hat. The hat and the angle she stood facing the camera successfully hid all of her facial features from the detectives.

"Wait, who's the woman?"

"I've not seen her before. I remember the hat, but I've never seen her before." The owner answered, going on to explain that yes, it _was_an invitation only gathering last night, but the list they used is one used my many other galleries so she did not personally know every person on the list.

Of course.

Why did he ever think finding the woman's identity would be easy for them?

He should have known better by now.

Waiting for the owner to come back with the list of those invited, Nick's gaze wandered back over to the footage.

"She's leaving." He said to Hank, almost asking him if he was seeing the same thing.

"He's leaving too." Hank commented, missing the slight blonde who slipped out after their victim.

Already trained on the footage, Nick noticed the flash of color that had followed the man out.

It was too familiar for him to dismiss immediately.

Not wanting to get Hank suspicious about the blonde just yet, he followed the direction he knew Hank's mind was going.

"Could be he caught up with her on the street." He looked up to meet Hank's eyes, where he could see a playby of the evening was beginning to form in his head.

"Maybe they had plans to meet up later."

"And he didn't want to be seen leaving with her."

"Or she didn't want to be seen leaving with him."

"So who was seducing who?" Nick asked, finally. Though he knew the blonde had something to do with the case, his instincts were telling him that he and Hank were on the right track about this for the time being. How the blonde was involved, he didn't know just yet, but right now, he just had to know how the brunette played into this because at the moment (because he couldn't just say the blonde was involved when nothing non-Grimm related pointed to her), she was the most likely lead.

"Psh, In my experience, the woman runs the relationship." Hank added before answering a call from the station. He looked away from the screen to take the call without bothering Nick, who looked to still be studying the tapes.

Rewinding the footage a bit, and now that he knew to look for it, he did in fact see a familiar looking blonde woman uncannily close to their victim the entire time he browsed, though never quite close enough to draw in his attention or to look obvious.

She just seemed to be _there_.

When he spoke to the brunette with the hat, she was of course, standing not too far off.

And when he followed the woman as she left, the blonde slipped out quickly after him.

There was a chance she had seen what had happened between the two, if she wasn't involved herself, that is.

Now he just needed to know who she was so he could figure out how she was involved.

This _really_ wasn't turning out to be his day.

* * *

><p>After seeing Harper about how the victim had died and then learning about the other victim in Phoenix, when Hank read out that the substance was found to be some form of spider venom, Nick's senses were screaming that this was a 'Grimm' case. Because so far, it was looking like a giant spider had killed the two men, and he was pretty sure those didn't just wander aimlessly out and about town, meaning it could only have been some kind of creature.<p>

Looks like it was time he hit the Grimm books.

And who knows, maybe if he reorganized the thing a bit, he could even fit a little coffee pot in the old trailer for nights like this that he knew he would be spending extended periods of time in the small enclosure.

It might just be the most modern piece of equipment in the thing if he did that, though.

But first he had some Eisbibers to pay a visit to.

* * *

><p>So now there were eight victims he knew about, three every five years, each set in a different city.<p>

And so far, they had a total of two in Portland, leaving them only one more chance to catch the woman responsible before she disappeared for another five years under the radar.

The worst of it was that the only thing Nick knew was that the woman was most likely a spider.

What kind, if there even _were_other kinds, he had no idea, but based on what he could actually read of the entry on them, spider definitely seemed to fit what he was dealing with in the current case.

...And he still hadn't found anything new out about that blonde woman...

He only hoped Monroe could shed a bit more light on the whole thing.


End file.
